The 2024 edition is based on analyzing 370,000 anonymized employees’ HR data, of which 138,000 are in management positions from over 90 Swiss companies and organizations. This is a unique data set in quantity and quality, corresponding to almost 7% of the Swiss workforce. 69 organizations are Advance member companies, 22 companies participated in the HSG Diversity Benchmarking and are not Advance members.
The Advance & HSG Gender Intelligence Report is the only report in Switzerland that is based on anonymized raw data provided by participating companies on a yearly basis. Consistent key performance indicators (KPIs) using the same formula and the same type of data for all companies have been calculated, which provide transparency on the progress of gender diversity in the Swiss workplace. The methodology allows for an objective, transparent comparison of results between companies. For companies interested in a more detailed analysis of their performance on such KPIs, the HSG Diversity Benchmarking allows deeper in-company analysis and cross-company comparison.
The analysis is based on five hierarchical levels: non-management, lowest management, lower management, middle management and top management. They are defined according to the Swiss Earnings Structure Survey of the Federal Statistical Office and are also used by Logib, the Federal Government’s equal pay self-test tool.
The analysis of employee diversity is inherently limited in the relevant diversity dimensions. In Switzerland, companies can only collect data on gender (but not gender identity), age, nationality, (sometimes) language, and education. Conversely, no data on sexual orientation or gender identity, religion, race and ethnicity or illnesses and disabilities may be collected due to data protection regulations. To map these dimensions, anonymized surveys may be necessary.
Why is gender treated as binary in the Gender Intelligence Report? As Swiss organizations largely record the gender category in binary form – due to a lack of legal basis and because not all HR software supports a third gender – and the analyses are based on the HR data provided by the companies, the analyses on gender follow this binary logic. This choice does not reflect the authors’ conceptualizations or personal views.
To illustrate progress or setbacks, we work with indices which we also recommend using when you interpret your own company’s diversity KPIs. We are often asked how to interpret results, set internal diversity benchmarks or how to evaluate HR numbers. Here is how we do it in this report:
We compare the gender distribution at every step along the employee life cycle (i.e. new hires, departures, promotions etc.) with the existing gender distribution in the relevant group. For instance, to assess whether women are hired for management positions at an adequate rate, we compare the gender ratio of newly hired female managers with the gender ratio of the female managers already working in the company. For example: Today, a company has a 23% share of women in middle management.
This rate could be improved if more than 23% of new hires for this level were women. This practice establishes how results from recruitment, promotions and turnover impact the existing gender distributions in the companies. Thus, you can see at one glance whether a result has a positive or negative effect on women’s representation.
If you would like to learn exactly how your company’s I&D metrics compare to your peers’, we encourage you to participate in the HSG Diversity Benchmarking. You can find more information here.
Once more, the Gender Intelligence Report 2024 includes analyses by industry. To do this, participating companies were sorted into 7 industries: banking, consulting, insurance, pharma/med-tech, public sector, service sector, and tech industry. Organizations were sorted into the industry that fits best.
This year’s Gender Intelligence Report also includes metrics derived from an organization-level questionnaire. The questions aim to reveal implemented I&D measures (such as diversity and inclusion goals or I&D or unconscious bias trainings) and policies (such as a sexual harassment policy). One representative (usually placed in an I&D and / or HR function) filled out the questionnaire per organization.